HUSKIE BITES

• NIU continues its three-game "Power 5" conference road swing at Nebraska Saturday. After facing Utah of the Pac-12 last week, the Huskies face a Big Ten foe before wrapping up its non-conference schedule versus Vanderbilt of the SEC on Sept. 28.  
• In its last visit to Memorial Stadium, the Huskies became the first MAC team to leave Lincoln with a win as they upset Nebraska, 21-17, thanks in large part to a pair of interception return touchdowns and a strong defensive effort throughout the game. 
• Eight players who started that game return with the Huskies this year.  Overall, there are 18 players on the roster who saw action in the NIU win on Sept. 16, 2017.
• NIU is no stranger to the Big Ten as the Nebraska game will be the Huskies' 47th all-time versus a league member. Six of NIU's eight Big Ten wins have come in the last 10 seasons and NIU has won four of its last six games versus Big Ten foes.        
• Transfer quarterback Ross Bowers (Cal), who won the job over incumbent Marcus Childers during preseason camp, has thrown for 528 yards on 40-of-62 passing (64.5%), including touchdown passes of 68 and 74 yards. He also scored on a nine-yard flip into the end zone versus Utah. 
• Thomas Hammock was named the 23rd head coach at his alma mater in January 2019 after five seasons as the Baltimore Ravens' running backs coach. Hammock, who recorded back-to-back 1,000-yard rushing seasons as a player, is the only two-time first-team Academic All-American in NIU football history. He made coaching stops at Wisconsin and Minnesota in the Big Ten prior to going to the Ravens.  
• The Huskie defense has limited eight of its last 16 opponents to less than 100 rushing yards and no opposing rusher has gained 100 yards on the Huskies in the last 17 games, since Nov. 24, 2017 (CMU's Jonathan Ward).  
• Since 2003, NIU has been one of the most successful "Group of Five" teams with four MAC Championships in the last eight seasons (including 2018) and 10 bowl appearances in the last 11 years, a record matched only by Boise State among non-autonomous teams. NIU has played in seven of the last nine MAC title games, with a 30-29 win over Buffalo last year. 

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HUSKIE FOOTBALL FACTS
Head Coach: Thomas Hammock (NIU '02)
Record at NIU/Years: 1-1/First
Career Record/Years: 1-1/First
Basic Offense/Defense: Multiple/4-3
First Year of Football: 1899
2018 Record/MAC Record/Finish: 8-6/6-2/1st
All-Time Record: 588-494-51
Last Bowl Game: 2018 Cheribundi Boca Raton Bowl
Bowl Appearances (FBS): 13
MAC Championship Appearances, Last: 8, 2018
MAC Championships, Last: 5, 2018
Letterwinners Returning/Lost: 52/24
Starters Returning: 16 (7 offense, 7 defense, 2 specialists)
Starters Lost: 10 (5 offense, 4 defense, 1 specialist)

NIU FACTS
Location: DeKalb, Illinois
Founded: 1895
Enrollment: 17,169
Affiliation: NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision
Conference: Mid-American (West Division)
Colors: Cardinal and Black
Nickname: Huskies
Stadium: Brigham Field at Huskie Stadium
    Surface/Capacity: FieldTurf /23,595
President: Dr. Lisa Freeman
Assoc. VP/Athletic Director: Sean T. Frazier
    Alma Mater, Year: Alabama '92
Tickets: 815-753-PACK (7225) or NIUHuskies.com
 

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NEBRASKA FACTS
Head Coach (Alma Mater/Year): Scott Frost (Nebraska/1997)
Record at Nebraska/Years: 5-10/2nd
Career Record/Years: 24-16/4th
2018 Record: 4-8
Big Ten Conference Record/Finish: 3-6/T-5th 
Location: Lincoln, Neb.
Enrollment: 25,897
Conference: Big Ten
Colors: Scarlet and Cream
Stadium: Memorial Stadium    
    Surface/Capacity: Turf /86,047
Interim President: Susan Fritz
Athletic Director: Bill Moos
Athletics Website: huskers.com
Twitter: @huskers
Ticket Information: 402-472-3111

Nebraska Schedule & Results
Nebraska Game Notes - NIU (PDF)
 

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NIU-NEBRASKA SERIES
Overall: Nebraska leads 2-1
In Lincoln: Nebraska leads 2-1
Streak: NIU, 1
First Meeting: Sept. 9, 1989 - Nebraska 48, NIU 17
Last Meeting: Sept. 16, 2017 - NIU 21, Nebraska 17
 

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FOLLOW THE HUSKIES

TV: NIU-NEBRASKA ON FS1

• NIU makes its second appearance all-time on FS1.
• The Huskies' only previous game on FS1 was the 2017 contest at Nebraska.
• The game is also available on mobile devices using the FoxSportsGo app.
• Justin Kutcher is on play-by-play for the broadcast with Petros Papadakis and Shane Vereen alongside as color analysts.

RADIO: HUSKIE SPORTS NETWORK

• The Huskie Sports Network broadcast for the Nebraska game begins at 6:30 p.m. CT, 30 minutes before kickoff. 
• The game will be carried on NIU network affiliates WLBK AM 1360/FM 98.9 (DeKalb), AM 560 The Answer (Chicago) and Sports Fan Radio AM 1330 (Rockford).
• Hear the broadcast online via NIUTube (subscription), and on mobile devices via TuneIn. Download the app for free and find the NIU Huskies channel. 
• Bill Baker is in his 40th season as the radio play-by-play "Voice of the Huskies." Color analyst Mark Lindo joins him for the 34th consecutive season, while Andy Garcia is in his seventh season on the NIU sidelines. 

INSIDE HUSKIE FOOTBALL RADIO SHOW

• Fans are invited to attend the one-hour weekly show every Monday at Noon at Fatty's Pub & Grille in DeKalb (1312 W. Lincoln Highway).
• Listen live with the TuneIn app. Hear the show Monday at 7 p.m. on WLBK AM 1360/FM 98.9 in DeKalb, 8 p.m. Monday on 560 AM The Answer in Chicago and Tuesday at 7 p.m. on SportsFan Radio 1330 AM in Rockford.
• Host Bill Baker welcomes NIU Head Coach Thomas Hammock, Huskie players and special guests, including NIU head coaches. 

NIU WEEKLY RADIO SHOW

• Andy Garcia and NIU Director of Athletics Sean T. Frazier host the 30-minute show which includes interviews with coach Thomas Hammock, other NIU coaches and guests. 
• Airs Friday at 10 p.m. CT in Chicago on AM 560 The Answer, Saturday at 8:30 a.m. on WLBK AM 1360/FM 98.9 in DeKalb and on Sports Fan Radio 1330 in Rockford at 6:30 a.m.
• Also available on-demand on NIUTube (subscription).

NIUTUBE (HUSKIE ALL-ACCESS)

• See weekly and post-game press conferences, video features and Huskie Olympic sports live game video.
• Hear all NIU live radio broadcasts, including football and basketball games and NIU radio shows.
• Purchase a daily, monthly or annual subscription.
• Go to NIUHuskies.com for rates and information.

GETTING SOCIAL

• Twitter: @NIUAthletics, @NIUScores, @NIU_Football 
• Facebook: NIU Huskies, NIU Football
• Instagram: niuhuskies, niufootball
• YouTube: NIU Athletics
• See NIU Athletics' social media hub online for all the team and staff accounts.

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NEWS & NOTES

THIS WEEK'S GAME

HUSKIES-HUSKERS HISTORY: Saturday's meeting between NIU and Nebraska will be the fourth all-time between the two schools. The Huskies won the last meeting, 21-17, on Sept. 16, 2017 in Lincoln, however, the Cornhuskers own a 2-1 advantage in the series. Nebraska defeated NIU, 48-17, in 1989 and 60-14, in 1990, both in Lincoln.

WHEN LAST WE MET: A pair of interception returns for touchdowns in the first quarter highlighted a stout defensive effort by NIU in a 21-17 victory at Nebraska on Sept. 16, 2017. Huskie cornerback Shawun Lurry opened the scoring with an 87-yard interception return with 11:24 to play in the first. NIU linebacker Jawuan Johnson's 25-yard pick-six late in the quarter, gave the Huskies a 14-0 lead. The Huskers scored 17 unanswered points to take a 17-14 lead before NIU's Jordan Huff scored the game-winning touchdown on a two-yard run with 2:22 left in the game on a two-yard touchdown run by Jordan Huff. Josh Corcoran capped the NIU win with an interception on Nebraska's final drive. 

FAMILY TIES:  Huskie senior linebacker Antonio Jones-Davis, nicknamed "Law Firm", and Nebraska linebacker Alex Davis are first cousins. Jones-Davis is from Vero Beach, Fla., while his cousin is from neighboring Riviera Beach.

RETURNING FOR THE REMATCH:  Eighteen Huskie players who saw action in the 2017 victory over Nebraska return to Lincoln with NIU this week. Eight of the 22 Huskie starters that day on offense and defense are back including, OT Jordan Steckler, WR  Spencer Tears, DT Jack Heflin, S Mykelti Williams and LB Kyle Pugh. Both Pugh and Williams amassed double-digit tackles in that meeting with 11 and 10, respectively.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN: Saturday's game in Lincoln, Neb. is the second of a three-game "Power  Five" road swing for NIU. The Huskies suffered a 35-17 setback at Utah last weekend and will travel to Vanderbilt Sept. 28, following an open date. NIU's next home game is Oct. 5 when the Huskies open MAC play versus Ball State.

MAKING THEIR BONES: NIU has posted 16 "Boneyard Wins" since 1983, eight of which have come in the last 10 years. A "Bonyard Win" is characterized as a victory over prominent opponents or schools from larger conferences. The last such victory for the Huskies was 7-6 triumph at BYU on Oct. 27, 2018. with seven of those wins coming against Big Ten opponents. The Huskies' 2019 nonconference schedule includes three "Boneyard" opponents – Utah (L, 35-17), Nebraska (Sept. 14) and Vanderbilt (Sept. 28). The Huskies have faced at least one autonomous conference school in 36 of the last 37 seasons.

NATIONALLY-RECOGNIZED: Saturday's game at Nebraska will be televised by FS1 and is one of six games currently slated for TV broadcast this season. NIU faced Utah on the Pac-12 Networks last week and will face Toledo (Nov. 13) and Eastern Michigan (Nov. 19) on either ESPN2 or ESPNU during the weeknight "MACtion" portion of the schedule. The Huskies' regular season finale against Western Michigan (Nov. 26) will be shown on ESPNU or ESPNPlus. Additional broadcasts, including the game at Vanderbilt and the remainder of the MAC games will be announced 12 days prior to the game.

BIG TEN REMATCH: The Huskies are 2-1 in Big Ten rematch contests since 2009. The last time the Huskies beat the same Big Ten in back-to-back meetings was Purdue as NIU defeated the Boilermakers, 28-21, in 2009 and 55-24 in 2013. The Huskies, who beat Iowa 30-27 in 2013 after losing the 2012 match up, 18-17, lost to the Hawkeyes in 2018.

NIU VS. THE BIG TEN: The Huskies have enjoyed a run of success versus Big Ten opponents since a 28-21 win at Purdue on Sept. 19, 2009. NIU has won six of its last 11 games against Big Ten foes, including four of its last six. The Huskies fell to 8-37-1 all-time versus teams that currently make up the Big Ten Conference when NIU suffered a 33-7 loss at Iowa In the 2018 season opener. NIU became the first MAC school to defeat two Big Ten teams in one season when the Huskies defeated Iowa (Aug. 31) and Purdue (Sept. 28) in 2013. 
 

Date	Opponent	Score	W-L
9/19/2009	at Purdue	28-21	W
9/18/2010	at Illinois	28-22	L
9/26/2010	at Minnesota	34-23	W
9/17/2011	#7 Wisconsin (in Chicago)	49-7	L
9/1/2012	Iowa (in Chicago)	18-17	L
8/31/2013	at Iowa	30-27	W
9/28/2013	at Purdue	55-24	W
9/6/2014	at Northwestern	23-15	W
9/19/2015	at #1 Ohio State	20-13	L
9/16/2017	at Nebraska	21-17	W
9/1/2018	at Iowa	33-7	L

RECAPPING LAST WEEK

HUSKIE HUNDRED:  A week after newcomer Tyrice Richie went over the 100-yard mark in receiving and with three catches for 102 yards against Illinois State, Spencer Tears amassed 112 yards on five receptions at Utah. It's the first time since 2017 the Huskies have had back-to-back 100-yard receiving games when Chad Beebe tallied 124 yards against Bowling Green (Oct. 21), and D.J. Brown recorded 104 yards against Eastern Michigan (Oct. 26). A year ago, NIU receivers recorded just one 100-yard receiving game on the season when Brown went for 117 yards on seven catches versus Florida State.

STRONG START:  Tyrice Richie and Spencer Tears' 100-yard receiving games mark the first time since 2015 NIU had a 100-yard receiver in the first two games of the season. Current Detroit Lions receiver Kenny Golladay posted 213 yards receiving against UNLV (Sept. 5) and 144 against Murray State (Sept. 12).

GOING LONG:  Ross Bowers' 74-yard touchdown pass to Spencer Tears at Utah is the longest offensive play for NIU since 2017 when Daniel Santacaterina connected with Tears on an 81-yard touchdown at San Diego State on Sept. 30.

TEARS FOR 1,000: Spencer Tears' 112 yards receiving at Utah put the Huskie wideout above the 1,000-yard mark for his career. The Chicago native has 1,062 yards on 90 receptions in 38 games played in his Huskie career and is the Huskies' first 1,000-yard receiver since Kenny Golladay, who reached the mark in 2015.

TEARS OF JOY:  Senior wide receiver Spencer Tears tallied a career-high 112 yards receiving at Utah on five catches. His previous career best was 105 at San Diego in 2017 in his only previous 100-yard receiving game. His career mark for receptions in a game is six, in each of the last three games of the 2018 season.


HAMMOCK HOMECOMING

NUMBER ONE:  New NIU Head Coach Thomas Hammock earned his first career win in his debut as a head coach, leading the Huskies to a 24-10 victory over Illinois State at Huskie Stadium. He is the first head coach to win his debut since current N.C. State head coach Dave Doeren in 2011 (over Army).

HAIL ALMA MATER:  In addition to being the school's first African-American head coach, Thomas Hammock is the first NIU graduate to lead his alma mater's football program as an FBS program, and the first since Howard Fletcher led the Huskies from 1956-68. Fletcher ranks second on NIU's all-time wins list with a .606 winning percentage after posting a 74-68-1 record in 13 seasons. 

YOUTH IS SERVED:  At 38 years old, Thomas Hammock is the eighth youngest head coach in FBS in 2019. He is a little over two months younger than Akron's Tom Arth, while Kent State's Sean Lewis is the youngest at 33 years of age.


FOR THE DEFENSE

NO, NO, NO:  The Huskie defense held vaunted Utah running back Zack Moss to 80 rushing yards, extending the Huskies' streak of not allowing a 100-yard rusher to 17 consecutive games. The last opposing running back to top the 100-yard mark was Central Michigan's Jonathan Ward who ran for 159 yards on November 24, 2017. 

THE FIRM: With seven tackles at Utah, linebacker Antonio Jones-Davis, nicknamed "Law Firm", is five tackles away from 200 for his career. He amassed a career-high 130 tackles last season and tallied six double-digit tackle efforts en route to All-MAC honors. He recorded a career-best 16 stops against Central Michigan (Sept. 15) and at Ball State (Oct. 6). His 12 solo stops against the Cardinals were the most by a Huskie linebacker since linebacker Boomer Mays made 12 against Western Michigan Nov. 18, 2015 at Huskie Stadium.

FOR STARTERS: Mykelti Williams, who started his team-best 29 consecutive game at Utah will have his streak come to an end this week as he will have to sit out due to a targeting call in the third quarter at Utah. Antonio Jones-Davis will pick up that mantle when he starts his 17th straight game Saturday at Nebraska. Jordan Steckler has started all 33 games he has played in as a Huskie. He missed four games last year due to injury.

HUSKIE HARDWARE: Sophomore Jalen McKie earned his second career MAC West Defensive Player of the Week honors following his game-clinching interception return for a touchdown against Illinois State. The Gurnee, Ill. native also tallied four stops in the contest. His pick six against Illinois State was the second of his career, with his first coming at Akron (Nov. 1) last year. He and Mykelti Williams are tied among current NIU players with three career INTs.


ON THE OFFENSIVE

FIRST IMPRESSIONS:  Ross Bowers turned in the best debut by a Huskie quarterback since Chandler Harnish when he threw for 299 yards on 20-of-33 passing and two touchdowns against Illinois State. Harnish amassed 321 yards passing and two touchdowns while completing 17-of-29 attempts at Minnesota on Aug. 30, 2008 in his first career start at NIU. In between the two, six different quarterbacks started games for NIU, with five getting wins.

WELCOME BACK: Tight end Daniel Crawford, who missed the entire 2018 season recovering from a knee injury suffered in the spring, returned to action for the first time since 2017 and recorded a career-high three receptions for 75 yards in the Illinois State game. He added 49 yards on three catches at Utah to give him 124 yards receiving this year. Crawford entered the season with seven career receptions for 65 yards. 

ON THE BRINK: Tight end Mitchell Brinkman, who played in four games last year while redshirting, has surpassed his career high in receptions with seven for 67 yards in two games this year. His previous career best in receptions and yards was last season when he tallied 79 yards on six catches in four games. The Council Bluffs, Iowa native tallied a career-high four receptions for 51 yards versus Illinois State. 

TIGHT WORK: NIU's tight ends have accounted for 37 percent of the Huskies' receiving yards this season with 199 on 14 receptions. Daniel Crawford leads the way with 124 yards on six receptions, Mitchell Brinkman has seven receptions for 67 yards and Max Thower has one catch for eight yards. Crawford is halfway to Shane Wimann's total of 283 yards receiving in 2017. The school record for receiving yards by a tight end is 475 by Reggie Sims in 1984.
  
MILLENIAL: A year ago, junior Tre Harbison became the Huskies first 1,000-yard rusher since Joel Bouagnon in 2015 as the North Carolina native tallied 1,034 yards last year on 206 carries. Harbison's career total of 1,455 yards rank 30th at NIU all-time. He needs 88 yards to pass Ed Johnson for 29th.

IN SEARCH OF 1,000: Senior tailback Marcus Jones is 11 yards away from reaching the 1,000-yard plateau with 989 rushing yards on 189 career attempts. He will be the 42nd Huskie to reach that milestone. He would join teammates Tre Harbison (1,423) and Marcus Childers (1,004) as active players with 1,000 career yards rushing at NIU.


HUSKIE HEADLINERS

TITLE DEFENSE:  For the fifth time in school history and the fourth time in the last eight years, NIU opens a season as defending MAC Champions. The Huskies rallied from a 29-10 third-quarter deficit to defeat Buffalo, 30-29, in the 2018 MAC title game. NIU won its first conference crown in 1983, and claimed back-to-back championships in 2011 and 2012, respectively. The 2014 team also took home a conference title.

FOR COMPARISON'S SAKE:  NIU is averaging 14 more points a game this season compared to the first two games of 2018, which also included a week two match up against Utah. and 126 more yards per game of total offense. The Huskies are averaging 156.5 more yards through the air, but 30.5 yards less on the ground.

LAND OF LINCOLN LEADERS: With a .696 winning percentage since 2010, NIU is the winningest football program among the state of Illinois' Division I football programs, and are 4-2 versus in-state foes during that time following the victory over Illinois State. The Huskies defeated Eastern Illinois in 2017 and 2013 and Northwestern in 2014, while falling to Illinois and Western Illinois in 2010 and 2016, respectively. With eight bowl games and seven MAC Championship game appearances in the last nine years, NIU has also played more games, 124, than any other school in the state in that time.

Illinois' Division I Schools Since 2010
 

Team	W-L	Pct.
NIU	87-38	.696
Illinois State	69-44	.611
Northwestern	69-48	.590
Eastern Illinois	50-57	.467
Western Illinois	48-60	.444
Southern Illinois	42-60	.412
Illinois	42-71	.372

NEWCOMER TO NEWCOMER:  A pair of newcomers hooked up to record the Huskies' first touchdown of 2019 when quarterback Ross Bowers connected with wide receiver Tyrice Richie on a 22-yard reception in the third quarter.  Bowers transferred to NIU from California, and won the quarterback job after a preseason battle with incumbent Marcus Childers, while Richie came to the Huskies out of Dodge City Community College in January 2019.

MEET THE NEW GUYS:  NIU welcomed three grad transfers to the program in 2019 and all three have played significant snaps already. Quarterback Ross Bowers, who started 13 games for Cal in 2017 and 2018 and threw for 3,039 yards as a sophomore in 2017, has completed  40-of-62 passes for 528 yards and three TDs in two starts. Offensive tackle Andrew Starr, a three-year starter at Sacred Heart University in Connecticut, started at left tackle at Utah. Marshé Terry, who played in 31 games with 13 starts at UConn, recovered a muffed punt versus Illinois State and has eight tackles on the year.

KICKING THE STREAK ALIVE: Redshirt freshman John Richardson extended NIU's streak of consecutive PATs to 127 when he connected on two point-after-touchdowns in the first half of the Huskies' contest at Utah. He hit three PATs in NIU's win over Illinois State in the season opener. The streak began Sept. 6, 2016 when Christian Hagan hit his last three extra points in the season opener at Wyoming. It's the sixth longest streak in the nation, behind fifth-place Wisconsin, with 149 and current NCAA leader Auburn (280).

DEGREES IN HAND: Eight players on the NIU roster are college graduates. Five have earned their degrees from NIU, while three came to DeKalb as graduate transfers. 

Ross Bowers (QB) - American Studies, Cal
Adam Buirge (S)   Leadership and Management, NIU
Daniel Crawford (TE) - Enterprise Software, NIU
Trayshon Foster (S) - Organizational & Corporate Communications, NIU
Marcus Jones (TB) - General Studies, NIU
Antonio Jones-Davis (LB) - Communications, NIU
Andrew Starr (OL) - English, Sacred Heart
Marshé Terry (S) - Communications, Connecticut
Quintin Wynne (DE) - Biological Sciences, NIU

HUSKIE HALL CALL: NIU football greats Larry English and Jerry Pettibone will be inducted in the NIU Hall of Fame on Friday, October 25 as part of NIU's 113th Homecoming celebration. English, a two-time Vern Smith Leadership Award (MAC MVP) winner, is NIU's all-time leader in sacks with 31.5 and tackles for loss with 63. A three-time first team All-MAC honoree, he became NIU's highest NFL Draft choice when he was selected 16th overall by the San Diego Chargers in 2009. Pettibone, who coached the Huskies from 1985-90, is tied for fifth in Huskie football history with 33 wins, including a 9-2 record during the 1989 campaign.  He led NIU to its first victory over a Big Ten foe as the Huskies defeated Wisconsin, 19-17.

MAC PRESEASON POLLS: The defending MAC Champion Huskies were picked to finish third in the MAC West Division in 2019 by both the MAC Media and MAC Coaches. NIU has won the MAC title four times in the last eight years and have participated in the conference championship game seven times in the last nine seasons.